How Can You Better Support Your Grantees?

Originally posted on the Versaic blog.

By: Burt Cummings, CEO, Versaic

I recently read an article about a report released by the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Out of 138 nonprofits surveyed, nearly two-thirds indicated that they don’t receive enough support from their funders – the foundations and grantmakers – on how to use data to measure and improve their programs.

This was a surprising statistic to me. As we heard from companies and foundations at conferences like ACCP and GMN, and as our partner The Rensselaerville Institute (TRI) has said, “It’s critical to set your grant partners up for success” by educating, communicating and helping them track their progress to help them meet milestones. But clearly, many nonprofit partners out there are feeling that they don’t have the right support to turn data insights into real action within their programs. This means that ultimately, the foundations and grantmakers aren’t achieving their full potential impact because, as Wendy Watson-Hallowell of TRI says, the “grantee’s results ARE the foundation’s results.”

So how can funders better support their grantees and partners with data – to improve impact for both of them?

Click here to continue reading about how you can better support your grant partners.